Key Summary
- UK is setting up a National Biosecurity Centre in Harlow to boost pandemic readiness
- The centre will create 1,600 jobs and support cutting-edge vaccine and pathogen research
- Part of a wider national strategy to deal with biological threats
The UK government is setting up a new biosecurity centre in Essex, which will protect the country from emerging public health threats like pandemics and boost economic growth.
The National Biosecurity Centre (NBC) will be the largest in Europe and create 1,600 jobs.
The first facilities of NBC will open by the mid-2030s and the whole site is scheduled to be in operation by 2038.
The government will be investing billions of pounds in the project, including £250 million over this Parliament, for vital research and testing that is currently split across UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) sites in Porton Down and Colindale.
The NBC will bring all this under one roof and it will enable closer collaboration between leading scientists and the life sciences sector.
This follows the launch of a new digital hub for the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) in Leeds to ensure that life-saving healthcare innovations reach patients faster.
These measures are expected to improve the UK’s capability to deal with future pandemics, create jobs and drive economic growth.
“A brand-new facility at Harlow will bring together our world leading public health science and emergency response capabilities, putting us in a stronger position to protect the public and keep people safe,” said Dyfed Alsop, interim UKHSA chief executive.
“This marks a significant investment in our future, ensuring that the UK remains a world leader in health security and that we are better prepared against a growing range of health threats,” Alsop added.
The new facility will be part of a national network of Biosecurity Centres under the 2025 National Security Strategy, which aims to strengthen partnerships between UKHSA, the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) and the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) to better handle biological threats.
This follows a £1 billion investment in a new Weybridge campus focused on animal and zoonotic diseases.
